In addressing the urgent need for affordable housing, the government will be putting greater emphasis on forming partnerships with private developers, said Deputy Minister of Federal Territories Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mohan.

Government can more effectively address the affordability issue by working hand-in-hand with private developers.

The deputy minister said the Federal Territories ministry has been tasked with the creation of 80,000 affordable units, of which 50,000 is to be located in KL, 20,000 in Putrajaya and 10,000 in Labuan.

“In order to meet these targets, my ministry has been partnering with private developers under the RUMAWIP scheme. As of Feruary 2016, a total of 39,416 affordable units have been [either] approved for development, are currently under construction or completed,” said Loga at last weekend’s Malaysia Property Exposition (Mapex) organised by the Real Estate Housing and Developers Association (Rehda).

“Similarly for PPA1M, the Prime Minister’s Department has been tasked with delivering 100,000 units of affordable housing for civil servants by 2018, and of these, 10,000 units are targeted to be in KL,” he added.

Loga said housing affordability is a major concern to the government, especially since the latest housing index shows house prices in major Malaysian cities to be more than three times the annual median income of households.

He acknowledged that the last decade had seen house prices spiralling upwards due to various factors. Among them, increasing land and development costs, which have resulted in relative inaccessibility for people seeking homes in major cities.

“The government is therefore trying our level best by undertaking various initiatives and measures to overcome this issue and ensure both home purchasers and developers are not burdened with this problem.”

Officiating the opening ceremony of Mapex 2016, Loga congratulated the expo for being the “largest and longest running” property event in the country.

He also applauded Rehda’s tireless efforts in supporting the government’s housing agenda, welcoming a similar commitment towards meeting the new housing objectives of the country. — Chris Prasad